The Philadelphia Flyers have signed one of their 2015 draft picks, inking David Kase to a three-year entry-level contract. Kase spent this season playing in the SHL, but could come to North American in 2018-19. As part of the announcement, GM Ron Hextall included some thoughts on his new prospect.
He plays and competes. He’s just a dog out there, he hounds the puck. The skill level is there. He is a smart player. He stays on the right side of the puck… For where we got him in the draft and his upside, we’re very happy. He’s a great kid and he just loves to play the game.
Selected in the fifth round three years ago, Kase actually led his SHL club in scoring this season with 23 points in 44 games. Granted, that was on one of the worse teams in the league, but it still goes to show how much he’s grown over the last few seasons. Still undersized, the Flyers now list Kase at 5’11” 164-lbs, meaning he’ll have to continue to work extremely hard to make an impact at the next level. Though he plays a bigger game than his size indicates, the grind of an AHL schedule could pose a challenge.
If he does work out for the Flyers, he’d only add to a 2015 draft class that is looking like an outstanding haul for the team. First-round picks Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny are already big parts of the NHL team, while goaltender Felix Sandstrom is developing nicely in Sweden and Mikhail Vorobyov is contributing in the AHL. Kase will see if he can add to the skilled Lehigh Valley team next season, where he’ll likely end up.
Is he realstes to Ondrej Kase?
He is Ondrej’s younger brother.
He led is team in scoring with 23 points? They must not have scored a lot if that was the highest point total